


The Long 15

by majortom



Series: Currere Sex [5]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Gen, chems, giving people chems without permission, then shamelessly digging for information
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 03:11:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4418882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majortom/pseuds/majortom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blessings and curses and Med-X confessions. Another stop on the Courier's mile. Takes place after Part One.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Long 15

 

The ghouls were fierce. The high radiation healed them almost instantly. Six and Vulpes worked well together; but soon enough they were running out of ammo. They fell back, taking turns to lay down covering fire until they escaped the ghouls and her pip-boy's Geiger counter stopped beeping.

They stopped in the Mojave Outpost to catch their breath. Six sighed heavily. "Why would they do that to themselves?" she wondered out loud.

Vulpes didn't answer. He looked sick. Six dug in her backpack and pulled out a bag of Radaway and a needle.

"No," he said.

"We both need Radaway after that adventure. You look like a wilting flower. You don't handle radiation well, do you?"

"I know how that works," he said, breathing heavily. "I am not having you pour that... foul concoction straight into my veins."

"Don't be so melodramatic. It's not _drugs_ , not really. It's not Psycho or Jet or even Med-X. It just gets rid of radiation in your body. It doesn't have any side effects. Well. Not _sinful_ ones, anyway," she allowed.

"Reliance," he panted, "on pre-war medicines... is weakness... I just need to... rest a moment..." He leaned over, was violently sick, and collapsed.

"Right," Six said, irritated.

She dragged him into the empty barracks.

To avoid lifting him, she pulled a mattress to the floor and rolled him onto it. She inserted the needle into his arm. "Weakness, huh?" she muttered as she hung the bag from the bunk ladder. "I'm not the one collapsing as soon as the adrenaline wears off..."

She situated her own medicine using a technique she picked up in her scavenging days, early after getting shot. She wrapped the needle tightly in bandages to keep it stable, then used ripped sheets to tie the bag to her shoulder. This way she was free to explore the barracks, and had relatively unhindered movement if the ghouls, or anyone else, showed up.

There wasn't much left at the outpost. She found a book on explosives that would help her while away the time until Vulpes woke up and started shouting at her, but not much in the way of food or drink. One lone Med-X syringe inside a footlocker. She hesitated before placing it on a table near her, then settled down to read.

After thirty minutes, she heard groaning. She put the book down and surreptitiously grabbed the syringe. She might need it.

She knelt next to Vulpes. "Hey. Are you with us, now?" she asked.

He leaned over and dry heaved.

"That's what happens when you ignore radiation your entire life," she said kindly.

He tried to glare at her, but he looked so pathetic she couldn't stop a laugh.

"You--" He coughed violently. He gave up speaking and instead focused on trying to remove the needle from his arm.

"No, leave it," she said, trying to contain his hands. "You need this. You may need another one after this. Just -- _stop it!_ "

"My... don't... out..."

She made a noise of annoyance. "If you don't leave it alone I swear I will knock you unconscious."

He didn't leave it alone, of course. She shouldered him, half to stop his hands from ripping out the tube, and half to block him from seeing what she was about to do. She stabbed the Med-X into his arm and pressed the plunger. Hopefully, if he remembered the slight pain, he would think it was from the Radaway needle. He soon sunk back down, muttering unintelligibly for a few minutes.

"I did warn you," she said.

He wasn't entirely under, but he was too fucked up to argue about the medicine. Probably too fucked up to even remember it was there. He really had no tolerance for chems. She retrieved her book from the table and sat down next to him. His stomach seemed empty, but she didn't want him to choke on his own vomit if he decided he wasn't done being sick. She wiped the sweat from his forehead with a piece of sheet.

When their bags were empty, she checked her pip-boy. She removed her own needle, but attached a second bag to Vulpes' tube. He muttered at her, but otherwise remained still for almost an hour.

"Where... where is she?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm right next to you."

"She's gone," he said despondently. He tried to roll over onto his arm, but Six pushed him back down. He didn't seem to notice. "I sent her away. She floated away from me."

Six realized he wasn't talking about her. He must be talking about Andromeda, or her mother. Vulpes knew that Six met his daughter, obviously; he sent her to do it. But he still refused to talk about it.

It probably was a breach of trust to use his current mental state to dig for information he didn't want to share, but so was drugging him with Med-X he surely didn't want. And she didn't think he would be worried about damaging her trust if their situations were reversed. Besides, she was most likely saving his life, even if he never admitted it. She deserved something for her troubles.

That was probably enough rationalizations.

"Why did you send her away?" she asked.

He looked at Six wildly, then seemed to calm down. "You're safe," he said.

"Yes, I'm safe," she replied with a smile.

"The child, she must be protected. She is ours. She mustn't stay," he said.

"Why not?"

He sighed heavily. "Servillia. She said so."

"Why did she say that?"

"Wouldn't like it. I don't know. Servillia liked it. I thought she did. I know."

"Servillia is Andy-romeda's mother?" she said, wincing.

"She died for her. Mother's sacrifice."

"How?"

"Carmenta took her. Carmenta told her, the prophecy. She was an oracle, you know," he told her seriously.

"Was she?"

"Yes."

Six floundered. What else could she ask him? He wouldn't be like this for much longer.

"Did you love Servillia?" she asked, and winced. This was really crossing a line now. But he probably wouldn't remember.

He looked at her. His eyes were slightly unfocused. "Love?"

"Did you love her?" she tried again.

"She loved everything. Loved. Always. She loved me? What... I think... I think..."

His eyes focused suddenly. "I think you are nosy."

She snorted in amusement. "Nosy?"

"Yes, nosy, nosing into business you have no business in," he told her.

She raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, don't answer the question."

"No questions are answered," he said, staring up at the ceiling. "Gods giveth, and gods taketh away. They don't explain."

"Neither do you," she muttered.

His eyes whipped back to her. "Neither do _you_ ," he said. "You run around. Like you have the luck of the gods on your side. But I don't think you do," he whispered confidentially. "I think it's just regular luck. And that runs out, you know." He nodded sagely. He even tapped his temple with his forefinger. She giggled at his serious expression.

"What happens then?" she pressed.

"What happens then?" He looked at her like she was stupid. "Bombs. They explode, then." He leaned toward her. "What do you think happened here?"

"Tell me."

"Ulysses bombed them. He hade nuke-- nuke-you-ler missiles locked on long 15 for _ages_. I told him not to. I _told_ him machines, you can't trust them. He should _know._ "

"Ulysses did this?" Six asked, shocked. It made sense, though. The silo was the only place she knew of that had this capability.

"It's fine," said Vulpes, waving a hand. "He got her out before the bombs went off. He took her to Primm. Hopeville had a courier, but Primm has more toys. She wanted a new toy."

"Did she," Six said flatly. She didn't want to talk about Hopeville.

"Yes. And when he heard the bombs go off -- everyone heard it -- he kept her safe while he looked for the Courier who killed them." He looked over at her. "Ulysses is a good man. I don't like him. Well. He's a good man, though. Pays his debts."

"Yeah," she said.

His eyes widened a little, but they were still unfocused. It gave him a strange, crazed look. "I don't think you did it, Courier. You set off the bomb, but you didn't kill them."

"Thank you, Vulpes."

"But who can say? You can't. And you're the only one who can."

She sighed. She was tiring of this version of Vulpes. Perhaps it was better he kept his secrets to himself.

"Go to sleep, boss," she said.

He tried to grab her arm, but missed. "You watch for ghouls?"

He surprised a laugh out of her. "I watch for ghouls," she agreed. "Of course. Don't you trust me?"

"Trust. Yes. Keep the ghosts away. Only the ones we need." He closed his eyes and was still. Six rolled her eyes.

They both remained quiet for a long time. Vulpes slept, and Six thought.

"We don't get to decide that, Vulpes," she said finally. "That right belongs to the ghosts."

\---

Six looked up from her text when Vulpes started groaning. She glanced up at the bag of Radaway -- it was empty. She silently cursed. She should have taken it down as soon as it was dry. It might've made this conversation easier.

He rolled over and started dry-heaving again. Six walked around him and pulled the needle out of his arm.

"Ow! What are you doing?" he wheezed. "I told you I didn't want any of that old-world poison. Look what you've done to me."

"You did that to yourself," she said.

He grumbled. Something like, 'I didn't do that, you did it, you stupid profligate.'

"This is what happens to you when you get too much radiation." He fixed her with a slightly bleary, but entirely menacing glare. "Radiation is an old-world problem. Don't you think you might need old-world medicine to fix it?"

"Cave fungus works just as well."

"Do we have any cave fungus? Besides, that's all Radaway is. Concentrated cave fungus."

He coughed painfully. It rather sounded like, 'Bullshit', but Six decided to ignore that.

"Anyway, do you have any theories on who irradiated the Long 15 in the first place?" she asked innocently.

Vulpes wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "I need to check with some other sources first, but I believe it was an accident, not an assault by the NCR."

She tried not to grin. "You think Ulysses is getting sloppy?"

He turned to her quickly. "Why would you say that?" he asked warily.

Six shrugged. "He lives near the only missile silo I know of," she answered.

"I suppose it isn't a huge leap for you, then; even with your limited cognitive abilities."

She scoffed. "You should be thanking me for returning you to your own cognitive abilities. You were halfway to becoming a ghoul before I fixed you." She smiled at him.

He, predictably, did not thank her. "Go to Ulysses. Find out what happened." He stood, swaying only slightly.

"Why don't you go? You could spend some time... visiting," she said.

He started pacing. Whether due to stress or simply to make sure his legs still worked after the Radaway, Six wasn't sure. She was a little impressed, though. He was recovering well. "I don't have the time," he said. "I must return to Caesar--"

"What the point of returning when you don't have an answer?"

He glared at her. "If you'd care to exercise your _cognitive abilities_ on the situation, you'd realize that what Ulysses tells you will have no bearing on what I tell Caesar. He doesn't know Ulysses is close by. It is information he does not need."

Six conceded the point. "But you could see her," she pressed.

Vulpes didn't answer right away. "Me visiting Primm will only bring danger. I cannot take that risk. You will go to the Divide. You will get a report from Ulysses. And you will tell Caesar you were investigating a radiation anomaly found by your pip-boy, and that you found nothing. I will return to the camp now and give my own report."

Six gave up. She knew when she was beaten.

"And," he added, "if you ever give me Med-X and try to probe into my mind again, I will kill you."

"Um," she said, "I mean, well... fair enough."

\---

Six was exceedingly grateful that Ulysses was in Primm, and not the Divide, when she arrived. She hadn't been looking forward to fighting her way down the Couriers' Mile again.

"What happened?" she asked him. The Nash's were over at the Vikki and Vance. Andromeda was happily playing in the other room with a new doll Six brought her.

"Nash had this eyebot. I dislike the machines, but he asked me to take a look at it. I owe him," he said in a monotone, "for taking Andy in."

"Right. So then what?"

He didn't answer that. "I'm surprised Vulpes didn't come himself."

She gave him a look. "I sure don't have any answers," she said.

"I needed parts," he continued. "I should have left it here. I _knew..._ But I wasn't sure which parts..." he sighed. "I took it back to the Divide. I got it working. And just like last time. It spoke. To another eyebot. Your eyebot." He eyed her, but without heat. "I don't blame you. I know you, now. It is the machines that are evil. Their pre-war routines. It set off the missiles. Missiles I pointed at the Long 15 when... Doesn't really matter. The road is gone. At least, for now."

Six nodded. She agreed. The mechanics weren't very important. The bombs went off. It was an accident. It wasn't her fault, or Ulysses'. And it wasn't the NCR. That was all that mattered. Any further guilt Ulysses wanted, that was his business, and his alone.

"At least it was only NCR soldiers that suffered," she said.

She couldn't tell much of his expression behind his mask. "Perhaps," was all he said.

"Vulpes isn't angry. I don't think," she amended. "He won't tell Caesar, anyway. I don't know what this means for the Legion, but you at least aren't in trouble."

"Not from the Legion, no. I never doubted that. I am too _important_ to Inculta to lose. I could do anything and if it meant safety for his blood, he would leave me alone. It is only myself I have to fear."

Six didn't know what to say. She could sympathize, but that didn't mean she had any words of comfort. Perhaps she knew too well the burdens a person could bear, and that was why she had no pleasantries. She wondered if she should put a hand on his arm or something.

"I do not think I will return to the Divide. I will watch this passage, but I will not walk the Mile again. Too much history, now; even for me."

They sat in silence for a long time.

Eventually, Andromeda came up to them. "Six!" she said. "Play dolls!" She held the doll out to Six's face and waved it back and forth.

Six took the distraction gratefully.

\---

She shifted her backpack, and looked towards the East, but she didn't walk. Not yet. Ulysses stood next to her. She wanted to tell him to let go of his guilt, but how could she when she carried so much of her own? She wanted to thank him for taking care of Andromeda, but he didn't need her thanks for that. What she really wanted, she couldn't describe.

"I follow your advice," she said, "from your note. Or try to, at least. There's only so much I can do."

Ulysses nodded. "One road at a time. A blessing," he said, "or a curse." He looked west, toward the Divide. "There are some roads, though, that should never be walked."

She sighed. "You don't know, do you," she said bitterly. "Until you walk it."

He laughed, without joy. "Wise words. A fork is a fork. Perhaps I am done walking for a time." He smiled at her. "I think Andy needs more than the aging Nashes in her life."

She looked away. She didn't want to hear Ulysses say that. You always had to walk the roads. That he might stop made her uneasy, she didn't know why. But if he were taking a rest from his travels, it wasn't her place to criticize. Instead, she said, "Don't turn her into a warrior, if that's not what she wants."

"You have a problem with warriors? You, Courier?"

"No," she admitted. "But everyone should choose their own path. Whether to destruction or salvation, right? We all choose our own." She tried a smile. "Perhaps _that_ is our blessing."

He looked west again. "And perhaps that is our curse."

Fair point, Six thought.

\---

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Now we're all ready for part two. I'm excited.


End file.
